What is an abomination? Personally, I think you could make a good case that glitter is an

abomination. Receive a card with glitter on it and you know instantly that you'll be finding that

very same glitter all over your face, your food, and your elderly relatives for years,

possibly decades, given that it has a half-life that is longer than plutonium.

But that is obviously to use the word abomination lightly.

An abomination is much more serious. It's a thing that causes profound disgust or hatred.

It's an obscenity, a great evil. The term abomination appears more than

100 times in the Old Testament and only a few times in the New Testament, and most commonly

the word refers to significant violations of the covenant, especially idolatry. You see it in Matthew

24, verse 15, and Mark chapter 13, verse 14, where Jesus refers to the abomination of desolation,

meaning an abomination that causes desolation or destruction. He says this to his disciples.

When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place,

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,

and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

And alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days,

pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath, for then there will be great

tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will

be.

There's been some speculation about who or what this abomination of desolation is, but things are made clearer by Jesus when he says that the

prophet Daniel had already spoken about it. Sure enough, there are three places where the prophet

Daniel speaks about it. In Daniel, there are three places where the prophet Daniel speaks about it. In Daniel

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